New Politics, New Parliament? A review of parliamentary modernisation since 1997 Alex Brazier, Matthew Flinders and Declan McHugh Hansard Society 2005 New Politics, New Parliament? A review of parliamentary modernisation since 1997 Text and graphics © Hansard Society 2005 Published by the Hansard Society, LSE, 9 Kingsway, London, WC2B 6XF Tel: 0207 395 4000, Fax: 0207 395 4008, [email protected] All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior permission of the Hansard Society. The Hansard Society is an independent, non-partisan educational charity, which exists to promote effective parliamentary democracy. The Hansard Society’s Parliament and Government Programme works on all issues relating to the reform of Parliament, engagement between Parliament and the public and promoting effective parliamentary government through a range of conferences, publications, public and private meetings. We set the agenda on parliamentary reform through our work with parliamentarians and others to improve the operation of parliamentary government and encourage greater accessibility and closer engagement with the public. For information about other Hansard Society publications visit our website at www.hansardsociety.org.uk The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors. The Hansard Society, as an independent non-party organisation, is neither for nor against. The Society is, however, happy to publish these views and to invite analysis and discussion of them. ISBN 0 900432 62 4 Cover design and photography by Ross Ferguson Printed and bound in Great Britain by Banjo Design & Print Limited Authors Alex Brazier is Senior Research Fellow on the Parliament and Government Programme, Hansard Society. Matthew Flinders is Senior Lecturer in Politics and Sub-Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Sheffield. Declan McHugh is Director of the Parliament and Government Programme, Hansard Society. Table of Contents Preface 1 Acknowledgements 2 Executive Summary 3 1 : Introduction 5 2 : Parliamentary modernisation since 1997: an overview 8 3 : Assessing parliamentary modernisation since 1997 14 (i) The legislative process (ii) Parliamentary scrutiny of the executive (iii) Modernising the style, form and working arrangements of Parliament 4 : Conclusions and recommendations 78 Appendices 89 Bibliography 103 List of Appendices Appendix 1 : List of Interviews Appendix 2 : Modernisation Committee Reports 1997-2005 Appendix 3 : Leaders of the House 1997-2005 Appendix 4 : Core Tasks of Select Committees, adopted by the Commons in May 2002 Appendix 5 : Government Refusal to Release Documents to Select Committees 2001-2005 Appendix 6 : Analysis of Applications for Information Under the Code of Practice on Access to Official Information 1998-2002 Appendix 7 : Written Parliamentary Questions (WPQs) and Ministerial Blocking Appendix 8 : Government Defeats in the House of Lords 1992-2004 Appendix 9 : Key Reports and Government Replies Appendix 10 : Major Changes to House Sitting Arrangements since 1998 Appendix 11 : Use of Sub-Committees and Turnover of Membership in Six Selected Cases Appendix 12 : Parliamentary Scrutiny Reforms 2001-2005 1 Preface The Hansard Society has a long interest in the operation of parliamentary democracy and has produced, over more than sixty years, a number of publications examining parliamentary government in the UK and around the world. The Society has also, through its Commissions, examined various aspects of the UK political process with a view to recommending reforms. Three of the most recent Commissions focused specifically on the Westminster Parliament. In 1992, the Rippon Commission examined the legislative process in its entirety – its report, Making the Law, becoming one of the most authoritative and influential texts on the law making process (updated in Brazier A. (ed), Parliament, Politics and Law Making 2004). In 2001, the Hansard Society Commission on Parliamentary Scrutiny, chaired by Lord Newton of Braintree, looked at Parliament’s non-legislative functions and suggested ways to make government more accountable. It, too, was an influential report and is credited with having had an important bearing on recent parliamentary reforms. Most recently, in 2005, the report of the Puttnam Commission – Members Only? Parliament in the Public Eye -– has suggested ways that Parliament might increase its ability to communicate its work to the world outside. While smaller in scale than these three Commissions, New Politics, New Parliament? covers similar ground by identifying and assessing changes to parliamentary procedure and practice since 1997 with a view to suggesting pragmatic options for reform. It is now eight years since Labour entered office with a commitment to ‘modernise’ the Westminster Parliament. As a new Parliament begins its work, following the election of a third successive Labour Government, the Hansard Society believes that this is an appropriate moment to take stock of the nature, extent and overall impact of the ‘modernisation’ process in order to plot the next steps that should be taken. 2 Acknowledgements The authors of this report would like to thank a number of people who kindly agreed to be interviewed as part of this inquiry: Anne Campbell MP, Rt Hon Robin Cook MP, Rt Hon Gwyneth Dunwoody MP, Mark Fisher MP, Rt Hon Eric Forth MP, Rt Hon Peter Hain MP, Prof. Robert Hazell, Oliver Heald MP, Baroness Jay, Lord Norton of Louth, Peter Riddell, Joan Ruddock MP, Dr Meg Russell, Lord Sheldon, Sir Nicholas Winterton MP, Tony Wright MP, Sir George Young MP. Appendix 1 provides details of when these interviews were conducted; where quotations in the text of the report are not specifically referenced, this denotes that they derive from the interviews. We would also like to thank a number of civil servants and Commons clerks for their insights, as well as Oonagh Gay and Richard Kelly in the House of Commons Library, who provided us with valuable information, research and advice. In addition, we are thankful to colleagues at the Hansard Society and University of Sheffield for their help and involvement, and give particular mention to Ragnhild Handagard and Vidya Ram who helped produce the final manuscript. Finally, the authors are very grateful to the Nuffield Foundation for funding this project. 3 Executive Summary • Parliament matters. The view of Parliament as being irrelevant, powerless or tangential to modern politics and government is a wholly misleading caricature. However, rapid change within government, society and to Britain’s broader constitutional architecture has to some degree left Parliament behind. • In 1997 Labour came to power committed to modernising Parliament in order to make the institution more effective, shift the balance of power between Parliament and the executive, and improve the public perception of Parliament. Although a number of significant reforms have been implemented, particularly during the 2001-2005 Parliament, there has not been a fundamental shift in the balance of power between Parliament and the executive. • In general, modernisation-as-efficiency has had more success than modernisation-as-scrutiny. That bias largely resulted from the failure of the Select Committee on the Modernisation of the House of Commons to set out a coherent end-point for modernisation. • With no clear objectives defined, the role of the Leader of the House as Chair of the Modernisation Committee became the dominant factor that influenced the course of the Committee’s work. • Between 1997 and 2001, although there were a number of important changes to the legislative process, the Modernisation Committee was steered away from addressing issues concerning the accountability of the executive. However, a confluence of factors occurred in the summer of 2001 that opened a ‘window of opportunity’ in relation to parliamentary reform, which the then Leader of the House was able to exploit. 4 • Key developments included the introduction of additional payments to select committee chairs, reforms to select committees and parliamentary questions and the bi-annual appearance of the Prime Minister before the Liaison Committee. The impact of these reforms is not yet fully known or apparent although the long-term effect of the reforms may be to strengthen Parliament in ways that the Government did not intend or anticipate when they were passed. • This audit of parliamentary modernisation reveals a number of ‘cracks and wedges’ in terms of important first-step reforms that may now be built upon and extended during future Parliaments. It is in this vein that this report sets out a pragmatic and realistic reform agenda that builds upon recent reforms and proposals that are currently under review. • The modernisation process has delivered some tangible results, including significant changes to Parliament’s legislative process and its scrutiny functions as well as improvements to the way that Westminster is organised. However, further reform is required and this report makes a number of recommendations for change. • Parliament’s authority rests on public confidence. If it is to restore this confidence it must take advantage of the current momentum for reform and build on recent reforms, not just to shift the balance of power between Parliament and the executive, but to close the growing gulf between Parliament and the public. 1 Introduction It is now eight years since Labour won a landslide